Local Cops Hold College Campus Safety Conference

Published June 3rd, 2008

When a crisis occurs on a college campus, knowing how to deal with the situation is crucial, and because local law enforcement agencies have a lot of experience with those types of situations, they are sharing their knowledge with other cops from around the country.

From the Gainesville student murders in the early 1990s to the on-campus murder of Santa Fe Community College employee Denise White, the "Don't Tase Me Bro" incident at the University of Florida, and a gunman on Santa Fe's campus this past February, local cops have dealt with several college incidents in recent years.

This week, they are sharing lessons learned from those situations at a conference they are hosting for other police officers and college administrators from around the state and the nation.

"What we're hoping to accomplish is to not only bring people together that have shared interests, such as safety on campus, but also to share the information that we've learned over time," said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell.

Officers have come from as far away as Penn State University to attend the conference.

"It's just really a matter of time as when it's going to happen at your campus, rather than if. So, I figured the more you can be prepared, and listen and learn from other people's experiences, the better we'll get at Penn State," said Assistant Chief Tyrone Parham from the Penn State University Police Department.

The conference continues Wednesday, when Lieutenant George Jackson from the Virginia Tech Police Department is scheduled to speak about the massacre that occurred on their campus last year.